[Commlist] cfp: TikTok and Social Movements Symposium

*Call for Papers: TikTok and Social Movements Symposium (20 September 2021)*

The recent growing popularity of TikTok has transformed the cultures and 
practices of social movements online worldwide. Despite several concerns 
towards the app, regarding weak security (Chae, 2020; Dziedzic, 2020), 
moral panics incited by malicious content on TikTok (Purwaningsih, 2018) 
and some countries’ (temporary) ban on the platform (e.g. Indonesia, 
Pakistan, India), TikTok has rapidly grown as the “hottest app of 2020” 
in the world (Brigham, 2020). Its functionality (e.g. short-video, 
voiceover, meme template, background music, duet, hashtag) and unique 
genres (e.g. dance, comedy, social media challenge) have expanded 
existing social media cultures and enabled users to engage with other 
users, social issues, and even misinformation and online toxicity with 
ease and fun.

As part of such cultural moves, TikTok users establish their vernacular 
cultures and find their meaningful use of the platform by leading or 
participating in various types of movements for global awareness, social 
change, and civic politics. This includes Young TikTok users’ climate 
activism (Hautea et al., 2021); Growing anti-racist movements, such as 
the continuation of “Black Lives Matter” on TikTok (Janfaza, 2020; 
Richardson, 2020); and emerging hashtag streams like #StopAsianHate in 
response to increasing violence against Asians in the pandemic (Hanson, 
2021).

The affordances of TikTok provide room for creativity with music and 
filters powered by AI technologies, which facilitates the formulation of 
identity politics and cultures. Recent examples include Young Indian 
women’s lip-syncing to Bollywood songs against the caste system 
(Subramanian, 2021); LGBTQI+ users’ use of various filters to advocate 
for diversity (Simpson & Semaan, 2021); Young users’ meme cultures (Zeng 
& Abidin, 2021) as consciousness building work (Anderson & Keehn, 2020; 
Literat & Kligler-Vilenchik, 2019); Older generations’ collaboration 
with younger generations (Hood, 2020). However, social movements on 
TikTok are not always specifically targeted towards social justice, but 
may often also advocate for specific beliefs that mirror global 
politics, such as Anti-vaccine movements and distribution of 
misinformation (Basch et al., 2021); Far-right movements (Weimann & 
Masri, 2020).

Focusing on the newly emerging cultures on TikTok, scholars in Media 
Studies, Communication Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology also have 
begun to develop “TikTok Studies”, looking for instance at emergent meme 
cultures on TikTok (Zeng & Abidin, 2021; Zeng et al., 2020; Zulli & 
Zulli, 2020), TikTokers as new types of internet celebrities (Abidin, 
2021), users’ music practices (Kaye et al., 2021), the emergence of new 
teenage pop culture (De Leyn et al., 2021), online learning on TikTok 
(Li et al., 2021; Literat, 2021), novel methodologies for TikTok 
(Schellewald, 2021), and the newly emerging geopolitics around the app 
(Gray, 2021).

In response to this expansion of scholarship on TikTok and alongside the 
TikTok Cultures Research Network’s ethos to cultivate diversity and 
equity in academic scholarship, we will be holding a one-day Symposium 
to showcase emergent research on the potentials, promises, pitfalls, and 
parameters of such social movements on TikTok. The Symposium seeks to 
provide a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the evolving cultures and 
practices around the civic and social movements on TikTok, wherein 
various actors on the platform across the globe advocate for social 
justice and specific values, develop grassroots networks and resources, 
and engage with others. We invite submissions on themes that include, 
but are not limited to:

• Politics, digital circulation, and/or economies of movements on TikTok
• Online activism, campaigns, and protest on TikTok
• Intersections of sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity, and more on TikTok
• Emerging TikTok practices and communities for advocacy
• Far-right, or alt-right movements on TikTok
• Roles and affordances of the platform technologies in mobilizing movements
• Surveillance of TikTok movements
• Consequences and pitfalls of TikTok movements

HDRs, ECRs (up to 5 years post-PhD + career interruptions), and scholars 
in/or from the Global South are strongly encouraged to apply. A 
selection of papers will also be considered for inclusion in a Special 
Issue tentatively entitled “TikTok and Social Movements” that will be 
published in a top-ranked peer-reviewed journal in the field of Media 
Studies, Internet Studies, and Communication Studies.

For consideration in this Symposium, please submit abstracts (up to 250 
words) on previously unpublished papers and a short bio (up to 100 
words) to TikTok Cultures Research Network ((tiktokcultures /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(tiktokcultures /at/ gmail.com)>).

*Key Dates:*

  * (extended) 06 September 2021 –  Abstracts and biographies due
  * 08 September 2021 – Notifications of acceptance
  * 13 September 2021 – Registration opens for non-presenters
  * 20 September 2021 – TikTok and Social Movements Symposium,
    tentatively 1200–1600hrs, GMT+8


We look forward to receiving your submissions! Please contact TikTok 
Cultures Research Network ((tiktokcultures /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(tiktokcultures /at/ gmail.com)>) with any questions about this event.

This Symposium is the fourth event organized by the TikTok Cultures 
Research Network, an Asia Pacific-based Network dedicated to 
understanding and developing qualitative and cultural approaches to 
studying the impact of TikTok on society, founded by A/Prof Crystal 
Abidin and supported by a network of Founding Members in October 2020. 
This event is supported by the Centre for Culture and Technology, and 
financed by Strategic Investment funding from the Faculty of Humanities 
at Curtin University.


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